Lionel Messi nets an incredible 700th club goal in Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-0 win over Marseille

Lionel Messi joined an exclusive club featuring rival Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring his 700th career club goal on Sunday.

The 35-year-old scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain beat Marseille 3-0 in the south of France to move eight points clear at the top of the Ligue 1, with Kylian Mbappe also on the scoresheet with his 200th PSG goal.

Messi is just the second player to achieve the feat in Europe’s top five leagues, after Ronaldo netted his 700th for Manchester United earlier this season.

The Portuguese star only managed one more goal before departing for Saudi Arabia, meaning Messi can become European football’s record scorer with two more strikes.

He already has the edge over his former El Clasico rival after reaching Sunday’s milestone in 840 games, 103 fewer than Ronaldo.

Messi reached the landmark in over 100 games fewer than old rival Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappe also netted his 200th PSG goal as PSG ran out convincing winners

Messi is also likely to beat the Al-Nassr striker for Ballon d’Ors. He already has seven to Ronaldo’s five but will be the overwhelming favourite to win the next award after his triumph in last year’s World Cup.

The Argentine legend has won 11 league titles and four Champions Leagues in his illustrious club career, and has passed 50 goals in a season on six separate occasions.

His best record came in 2011-12, when Messi scored 73 goals in 60 games for Barcelona. 

There are four other players  who have scored 700 career goals including international appearances (Pele, Romario, Ferenc Puskas and Josef Bican), but none have hit the milestone in competitive club appearances.

The legendary Pele and his Brazilian compatriot Romario claimed to have scored over 1,000 goals, but many came in friendlies and are not officially documented.

Ronaldo struck his 700th goal earlier in the season when he netted against Everton in October

Ronaldo’s record of 701 goals in European football is now in serious danger of being broken

Including international goals, Messi’s tally now sits at 798, giving him yet another landmark to chase down.

Aside from personal achievements, Sunday’s win was vital in putting PSG’s title push defence back on track after a wobbly few weeks.

A loss to second-place Marseille would have reduced the gap to just three points, but the Parisians’ emphatic victory has opened up a comfortable gap.

PSG will next be in action when they face Nantes on Saturday.